Nicholas Daines

Nicholas Daines Personal page of Nicholas Daines: Actor, Top Stunt Performer, Tv Presenter, GB Sports and Gymnast an

Multifaceted professional: Actor, Top Stunt Performer, Tv Presenter, GB Sports and Gymnast and Microbiologist.

What if Pandora wasn’t as fictional as we think? 🌊🐋In Avatar: The Way of Water, we were introduced to an ocean world inh...
09/06/2026

What if Pandora wasn’t as fictional as we think? 🌊🐋

In Avatar: The Way of Water, we were introduced to an ocean world inhabited by enormous, intelligent creatures.

But some of the most extraordinary creatures imaginable already exist right here on Earth.

Humpback whales communicate, form powerful bonds, migrate thousands of miles and mothers devote months to protecting and teaching their calves.

I’ve spent much of my career working in the world of movies, helping create things that aren’t real.

And then I got into the water with these.

Looking into the eye of a humpback whale is one of those moments when reality beats anything Hollywood could create.

This is the real-world inspiration behind my Stuntman in the Wild: Avatar adventure.

The ocean of Pandora already exists. 🐋🌊 WhaleConservation OceanConservation

There are encounters with wildlife that stay with you forever. This was one of them. 🐋Floating in the open ocean as a yo...
09/02/2026

There are encounters with wildlife that stay with you forever. This was one of them. 🐋

Floating in the open ocean as a young humpback whale slowly rose towards the surface and looked back at me.

No cage. No barrier. No set. Just one of the largest animals on Earth choosing to share the same patch of ocean for a few extraordinary moments.

I’ve spent much of my career creating extraordinary encounters for the movies. But sometimes nature creates something Hollywood simply can’t.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to take you inside one of my favourite Stuntman in the Wild adventures — swimming with humpback whales and discovering the remarkable real animals that helped inspire the world of Avatar.

And this little one was only the beginning… 🐋🌊

Stuntman in the Wild

08/26/2026

For decades, we’ve told ourselves a story about sharks. 🦈

One where they’re the threat. The predator. The villain.

And cinema keeps telling it.

In Under Paris, a shark named Lilith enters the Seine, turning a triathlon into a fight for survival.

In Thrash, a Category 5 hurricane floods a coastal town — bringing sharks into the streets.

And in Deep Water, a plane crash leaves survivors stranded with a predator circling below.

Different stories.
Same fear.

But after getting into their world and seeing these animals for myself, that version of the story simply doesn’t hold up.

Because sharks don’t need our fear.

They need our protection. 🌊🦈

Sharks play a vital role in healthy marine ecosystems. They are part of a balance that has evolved over millions of years — and when we remove them, the consequences can reach far beyond the animals themselves.

But it’s not too late.

Not too late to understand them.
Not too late to respect them.
Not too late to protect them.
And not too late to change the story.

🎬 Let the movies keep their villains.

Out here, sharks are something else entirely.

This is what Stuntman in the Wild is about: getting beyond the movie mythology, meeting extraordinary wildlife in its own world, and discovering what is really worth being afraid of — losing it.

🎥 Stuntman in the Wild
🌊 Great White Shark episode
▶️ Full film on YouTube — link in bio



08/19/2026

South Africa was once the most reliable place on Earth to see great white sharks. So why are sightings becoming less frequent? 🦈🇿🇦

Not long ago, encounters with great whites here were reliable and consistent. South Africa was a global hotspot — and, remarkably, became the first country in the world to legally protect great white sharks.

Today, sightings in many of those famous locations are far less frequent.

There isn’t one simple explanation. But shark nets and drumlines deployed in the name of swimmer safety continue to remove sharks — and other marine life — from the ecosystem.

And every loss matters.

Fewer sharks.
Fewer mature breeding animals.
More pressure on an already vulnerable population.

And when sharks are displaced from familiar areas, they don’t simply disappear. They have to search elsewhere for food — potentially moving into areas where people are far less accustomed to encountering them.

That creates a disturbing contradiction:

We remove sharks to make the ocean safer… while disrupting the very ecosystem we’re trying to share.

I went to South Africa wanting to get closer to one of the most feared animals on the planet.

The more I learned, the more I realised the story isn’t really about whether we should fear great white sharks.

It’s whether they should fear us.

South Africa was the first country to protect the great white.

Could it now become one of the places where we watch them disappear?

🎬 STUNTMAN IN THE WILD
Real animals. Real adventures. No CGI.



SouthAfrica OceanConservation MarineConservation WildlifeConservation OceanLife SharkDiving ProtectWhatYouLove WildlifeFilmmaking UnderwaterWorld NatureDocumentary StuntmanInTheWild WildlifeAdventure OceanProtection Conservation SharkAwareness

Hollywood gave us the perfect monster: a shark that hunts people, smells blood from miles away and relentlessly chases a...
08/09/2026

Hollywood gave us the perfect monster: a shark that hunts people, smells blood from miles away and relentlessly chases anything that enters the water.

But the real great white is far more fascinating.

Having worked in movies and now encountered these animals in the wild, I wanted to separate cinema from science.

Great whites aren’t mindless killers. Humans aren’t their natural prey. They don’t patrol the ocean looking for us — and their behaviour is far more complex than the movies would have us believe.

And perhaps the biggest plot twist?

We are a far greater threat to sharks than they are to us.

Jaws created one of cinema’s greatest villains. The real animal deserves something different:

Respect. Understanding. Protection. 🌊🦈

🎬 STUNTMAN IN THE WILD
From Hollywood monsters… to the animals that inspired them.



National Geographic Shark Week Ocean Conservancy Save Our Seas Foundation

08/05/2026

For 50 years, Jaws shaped how we see great white sharks.

As a Hollywood stuntman, I’ve spent years creating danger on screen. Now I’m diving with the real animals behind the myths.

This isn’t about special effects.

It’s about discovering the truth.

Real animals. Real adventures. No special effects.

🎬 Welcome to Stuntman in the Wild—where Hollywood meets reality.

Watch until the end and tell me...

Has Hollywood changed the way you see sharks?

Follow for more episodes as I investigate the real creatures behind cinema’s biggest monsters.

is

Sharks MarineLife Conservation BehindTheScenes Hollywood WildXtra Adventure Nature ScubaDiving RealVsHollywood

🎬 Hollywood creates the monsters. Nature reveals the real ones.For years I was part of the movie industry, helping bring...
08/04/2026

🎬 Hollywood creates the monsters. Nature reveals the real ones.

For years I was part of the movie industry, helping bring danger to life on screen as a Hollywood stuntman.

Now I’m swapping film sets for the wild.

Stuntman in the Wild is becoming more than a wildlife page—it’s where Hollywood myths meet the incredible truth behind the world’s most misunderstood animals.

The goal isn’t just to show you a great white shark.

It’s to take you on the journey with me.

I want you wondering...

“What’s Nick getting himself into this week?”

Every episode compares the creatures we’ve grown up watching in blockbuster movies with the animals they were inspired by.

🕷️ Spider-Man vs Funnel-web Spider
🦈 Jaws vs Great White Shark..and many more.

Because the real stories are always more incredible than the fiction.

This is Hollywood vs Reality.

Welcome to Stuntman in the Wild.

🎬 50 years after Jaws changed cinema, it’s time to separate Hollywood from reality.

Proud to be sharing these stories with Wild Xtra as we explore the incredible wildlife that inspired some of the biggest movies ever made.

Which movie creature should I investigate next?

Discovery National Geographic Shark Week New South Wales Wild Xtra Save Our Seas Foundation

07/29/2026

🦈 To truly understand great white sharks, you have to go deeper - 30 metres down to be precise!

Not just beneath the surface of the ocean, but beyond the myths and misconceptions that have shaped how we see them. Stepping into the cage was more than an adrenaline rush—it was an opportunity to observe one of nature’s most remarkable apex predators on their terms.

Great white sharks can grow to 6 metres in length, weigh over 2,000 kg, and live for 60–70 years. They are slow-growing, long-lived animals that play a vital role in keeping our oceans healthy.

Despite their fearsome reputation, the chance of being attacked by a shark is around 1 in 3.5 million.

Knowledge replaces fear. Respect replaces misunderstanding.

🌊 Full adventure in Stuntman in the Wild.




07/15/2026

One of the scariest parts of 47 Meters Down isn’t actually the sharks... it’s choosing the wrong operator.

The film brilliantly creates tension through worn equipment, frayed cables and poor decisions, until the cage plummets into the depths surrounded by great white sharks. It’s a terrifying concept—but it’s also a reminder of something very real.

Who you choose to dive with matters.

When I filmed with great white sharks, one thing became obvious: your safety starts long before you enter the water. It starts with the people you trust.

Professional operators don’t just take you to see sharks. They spend decades learning the animals, understanding the environment, maintaining their equipment to the highest standards and putting safety before everything else. That’s what allows people to experience these incredible predators with confidence and respect, rather than fear.

That’s why I have so much respect for Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions. Since 1963, they’ve been pioneers in great white shark research, cage diving and conservation in the waters of South Australia. Their knowledge of the ocean, local conditions and shark behaviour has been built over generations, and it shows in everything they do.

Movies like 47 Meters Down are fantastic entertainment, but they are not a reflection of how responsible shark expeditions operate.

Having been inside the cage myself, I can honestly say the real lesson isn’t to fear the shark—it’s to respect the ocean, understand the animals, and choose experienced people who never cut corners.

Because fear isn’t the same as truth. Knowledge replaces fear with respect, and that’s where conservation begins.




07/09/2026

🦈 Before getting into the cage with a great white shark, I wanted to learn from someone who knows these waters inside out.

I sat down with great white shark expert Maddie Jones, who’s spent years working alongside these incredible predators.

I asked her:

“You know these waters like I know a stunt rig or a film set. What’s the one thing first-time visitors overlook?”

Her answer was fascinating.

It’s not just the cold water...

It’s remembering that every single great white shark is an individual.

Each one has its own personality, its own behaviour and its own way of interacting with the world.

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding great white shark diving is the use of bait.

People often think operators are feeding the sharks.

They’re not.

The crew use carefully controlled tuna scent trails and fish attached to a rope—not to reward the sharks with food, but to create movement that encourages them to investigate the area and come within view of the cage.

This isn’t something that anyone should ever attempt.

It requires permits, extensive training and a deep understanding of shark behaviour.

Too much stimulation and you risk influencing their natural behaviour.

Too little, and they simply lose interest.

When done responsibly by experienced professionals, it creates a controlled interaction that allows researchers, filmmakers and divers to observe one of the ocean’s greatest predators while respecting exactly what they are...

Wild animals.

The more I learn about great white sharks, the more I realise that understanding them—not fearing them—is the key to protecting them.

🎬 Full episode coming soon on Stuntman in the Wild.




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